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ECWCD manager responds to article

By Staff | Mar 20, 2009

To The Editor,

The mission of East County Water Control District (ECWCD) is to manage, protect, improve and preserve the natural resources within the District in a fiscally responsible manner.

During these hard economic times, many organizations are experiencing financial conditions unlike those of previous years. In the March 3 edition of the Citizen, it was stated that ECWCD is in a “budget crisis-this is not accurate as the District’s finances are where staff and board members expected it to be.

Residents within the District’s boundaries are assessed a non-ad valorem rate so that ECWCD can provide the necessary drainage and flood control protection to the area. In 1963, the Special Act ratified the District’s creation and authorization to levy and enforce taxes was reaffirmed in accordance and under the provisions of Florida Statues, Chapter 298.

Whether residences or businesses border canals or not, everyone pays the same flat rate based on the amount of property they own, not its value. The current rates paid to ECWCD per year by property owners:

Quarter Acre: $22.45

Half Acre: $44.90

One Acre: $89.80

Although the District raised assessments 25 percent over the last three years, it is assessing the same level of total assessments in 2009 as the District’s 2002 assessment. In reality, the District was assessing $6.5 million in 1997 and and $5.9 million in 1998. Beginning in 1999, the Board cut assessments to $4.2 million and continued to decrease the assessment for eight straight years. The increases discussed in the March 3 Citizen Article, would be non-existent if the Board would have kept the assessments even from 2000 to today.

ECWCD’s Board of Supervisors have always strived to keep assessments as low as possible, in some years these rates were lowered by using financial reserves to offset large assessment increases.

The Board is currently, as it has been in past years, concerned about the perception of ECWCD holding reserves that are too high. Trying to keep the assessments rates low and keep the reserves at an appropriate level is a delicate balance. The District would like to clarify that ECWCD policy requires the District to hold a 25 percent Reserve Amount-which the District is doing that in the current 2009 budget.

The District did expect the $536K projected decrease in reserves in 2008 and we actually experienced a “deficit” of $227K. ECWCD District Manager, David Lindsay and the Board of Supervisors had a projected decrease in reserves of $500K in 2009, not a deficit.

The March 4 Edition of the Citizen, noted ECWCD uncollected assessments at a 12.5 percent with no qualifying dates. To clarify, this 12.5 percent was from 2002-2003 prior to the real estate boom. During this time, the District did cover the defaulted payments to meet our obligations, while still lowering assessments.

From 2004-2006, land prices increased, back assessments were paid, and the District was able to sell dirt-which allowed the ECWCD to decrease assessments during the boom. During the boom years, most other governments experienced exponential growth in their revenues as the ECWCD was decreasing. In 2009, the District budgeted 3.5 percent for uncollectible assessments; at this point in the 2009 budget year, our collections are at a better percentage than in both 2007 and 2008.

The community has been extremely well-served by the Board over the last 10 years and would like to garner the support of the community while they catch-up on these budgeting issues.

During the last ten years, the District has built 65 culvert crossings and 16 weirs three parks a new outfall to the Caloosahatchee, while holding down assessments; the District received $8,385,285 in grants for this same time period.

David Lindsay

Manager ECWCD

Lehigh Acres